


On The Floor

by gemzies



Series: Colliding By Design [2]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Anger, Angst, Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt, Kayfabe Compliant, M/M, Major Character Injury, Reflection, Sad Ending, Still Possibly Unrequited Love, admitting feelings to oneself, having fun with past and present tense, set immediately after the Feb. 17 2021 episode of NXT, too much has happened for Finn to process, unspoken feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:36:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29663937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemzies/pseuds/gemzies
Summary: Finn's ears were still ringing, the cool night breeze a welcome feeling across his sore body, but doing nothing to calm his mind. As he reflected on the events of the night, he supposed he had gotten some of the answers he had craved.But at Kyle O'Reilly's expense. Was it worth it?
Relationships: Finn Balor | Prince Devitt/Kyle O'Reilly
Series: Colliding By Design [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179758
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	On The Floor

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the Spitalfield song of the same name.
> 
> ...again, poor Kyle.

His ears were still ringing.

Not loudly, nothing he needed to be concerned about (or so he told himself). Just enough to be audible, a quiet reminder of the evening’s events. Finn sat on the steps of his back porch, the cool night breeze a welcome feeling across his sore body, almost soothing against his battered skin. It was too bad, he thought as he got more and more lost in contemplation, that the breeze couldn’t do the same for his mental state.

He hadn’t planned on confronting Kyle O’Reilly in the ring.

It was the last thing either of them needed at that point. He wanted – no, needed – answers, and he was damn sure going to get them at some point before NXT went off the air. But he knew Kyle needed them more. Finn may have felt angered by Adam’s actions at Takeover, may have been upset by Kyle’s near-dismissal of him afterwards, might have had a small tendril of betrayal wrapping around his mind. But he knew from personal experience that nothing he felt could compare to what Kyle was going through right now. So, he would let him have his time.

Finn had watched on the monitor in his locker room as Kyle made his way to the ring. He took note of the slight bags under the younger man’s eyes, the way his usually steady voice cracked as he spoke, the heartbroken desperation as he plead directly into the camera for Adam. For the man who kicked him in the face and stabbed him in the back, yet who he still called ‘brother’, to come and explain himself. The unabashed anguish distorting the man’s normally jovial features.

Finn never wanted to see Kyle look like that again in his life.

When Roderick Strong walked out instead of Adam, Finn immediately grabbed his title and headed towards the ring. He might not have fully trusted Roderick, might not have even _liked_ Roderick, might have been suspicious of Roderick’s attempts at keeping the peace. But he knew that under all the layers of pain and distrust Kyle still cared for his Undisputed Era brother, and Finn was not about to let him do something he was going to regret. He paused only long enough to bark at the sound engineer when he reached gorilla to give him a mic and hit his music before stepping through the curtain.

Four days of pent-up anger and confusion and _hurt_ that he thought he had a better grip on rushed out of him once he made his entrance. Accusations and questions and words he wasn’t intending to say came out of his mouth as he walked onto the stage and down the ramp. What right did he have to tell Kyle to get in line for an answer? But his outburst had the intended effect, Roderick hopping down off the apron and getting in his face, separating the two before they could come to blows.

The attack from the so-called “Kings of NXT” didn’t surprise him as much as it should have. But Kyle jumping into the fray and helping _him_ and not Roderick certainly did.

Finn stretched his legs for a moment before curling them back up into his chest, resting his arms atop his knees, continuing to stare almost blankly at the lake behind his house as it rippled in the moonlight. He hadn’t decided yet if he wanted to thank William Regal or kill him for that main event tag match. Too much had happened, too many conflicting thoughts and emotions, too much noise in his brain to process everything.

He had seen the footage of Kyle and Roderick arguing in the parking lot. He had watched from the ring as Kyle stormed past Roderick as if he weren’t there when they made their entrance. And yet, he was still surprised when Kyle tagged him instead of his usual partner. He felt a jolt through his body as they worked together, a warmth that spread inside him at the thought that _Kyle still trusted him_. His mind had begun to settle as he went to work, and when Roderick tagged in a few minutes later he had thought that maybe they could pull it off.

He had come to with a loud buzzing noise in his head.

It had taken him a second to realize he was still in the ring, his hands reaching up to his throat as he tried to steady his breathing, his eyes opening briefly to find Adam Cole standing above him with the NXT title. His NXT title. He had let his eyes close again as he tried to figure out what had happened.

He could remember feeling someone shove him off the top turnbuckle, crashing into the referee and almost knocking himself out. Remembered pulling himself together, feeling a hand on his back and reacting without thinking. The mild horror when he realized the person he’d just kicked in the head was Roderick Strong. Confusion followed by pain as he was lifted up and slammed down onto the mat, caught so off guard that he couldn’t kick out of the pin. Anger fading to resignation as he stared at Pete Dunne and his lackeys. Standing up and shouldering his championship and wondering where Kyle was, and then everything went black.

_Kyle._

Finn’s heart had dropped into his stomach when he saw the officials rush to ringside. When he saw Kyle lying there motionless it took everything in him not to scream, not to leap down and take the fallen man in his arms, not to run out of the building and _murder_ Adam Cole with his bare hands. Instead, he carefully slid out of the ring, asked the officials if he could help, tried to make eye contact to let Kyle know he was there. When Hunter and the medics brought the stretcher he moved back, sat on the apron, and felt more helpless than he ever had before as all he could do was watch.

He had gone into autopilot once they started wheeling Kyle to the back. Followed as close as allowed without a second thought. Wanted to be there if they needed help. Wanted to be nearby in case anything happened. Needed to know Kyle would be okay. He peeled off from the pack when they got to the entrance to medical, understanding he wouldn’t be allowed in unless Kyle explicitly asked for him, and painfully aware that wasn’t going to happen. He had waved off the medic who had come to check on him, had said he was fine despite the ache in his arm and throbbing in his skull, had ignored the raised eyebrows as he shouted at the medic to go help Kyle instead.

It did not occur to him until an official handed it to him that he had left the NXT Championship in the ring.

Finn lost track of how long he was sitting outside. He could feel the crisp air begin to bite against the exposed skin of his arms and face, his gaze shifting towards the stars above him as he continued trying to calm the storm inside his heart. He got some of the answers he had craved, he supposed. But those answers came at the expense of the man he still felt for, the man who’s bearded smile could light up a room and who’s rough touch in the ring lit up his body, the man who’s brown eyes had been so filled with fear the last time they’d briefly connected with his own before he was carted away. _So_ w _as it worth it?_ he asked himself, another question he wished he had an answer to.

He let out a sigh, then he reached down and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tapped the device against his thigh, unable to bring himself to open it at first. Everything still felt too raw and too fresh. Too unstable for him to think clearly, to know he was in his right mind. After a few minutes he shook his head and finally unlocked it, ignoring the mess of notifications, and opened a specific text message.

A ghost of a smile forced its way across his lips as he remembered the look he’d received when he’d stormed up to William Regal after the dust had settled. The way his eyebrow had quirked at the request. The knowing smirk in those wise eyes. Regal knew him way too well. But he had obliged and texted Finn what he’d asked for. He couldn’t recall if he had said “thank you” to the GM or not before he turned and walked off to his locker room.

Finn couldn’t put a name on what this feeling was, didn’t want to put a name on it. Because he had learned the hard way once that giving something a name made it real. Made it tangible. Made it something he would have to accept and live with. And Finn wasn’t sure he was ready for that yet. Wasn’t sure if he was ready to put himself out there, put his heart out there, put himself at risk of being burned again. But as he clicked on the requested information and opened a new text window, he knew exactly what the feeling was. He took a deep breath as he typed the message out, letting it out slowly, trying to ignore the way his eyes had begun to sting.

He hit send before he could lose his nerve, and then went inside to try to get some sleep.

_"Kyle, it’s Finn. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
